Astrology is full of archetypes. The prideful Leo, the fast talking and/or flighty Gemini, the brash and bold Aries.

If I tell you my best friend is a Taurean do you have an immediate picture of her in your mind? Sturdy and steady, loyal. Security loving. Patient. Maybe a tad bit lazy (although she claims she's only pacing herself), definitely stubborn.

How about Capricorn? Disciplined, ambitious, grounded, cool under fire. Self-contained.

While these traits probably do apply to the Taurean and Capricorns you know, we are all so much more than our Sun Signs.

What if I told you my Taurean friend has a Leo Moon, and that self-contained Capricorn has a Sagittarius Moon? Does that change your perspective of them in any way?

In an astrological chart the Moon sign represents our emotional nature. How we instinctively react. How our emotions color our perceptions. How we protect ourselves. That Taurean with the Leo Moon has a bit of regalness about her and her ego can flare when her Moon perceives an emotional threat. Our steady Taurus isn't so steady at that point, not with her ego-flamed temper on display. Not an introvert by any stretch of the imagination, she does enjoy being the center of attention but is happiest bestowing her affections on those she cares about.

And that Capricorn Sun with the Sagittarius Moon? He has a great inner need for adventure. To get out in the world. But that strong and instinctive internal need is at odds with his ambitious Capricorn Sun. Sagittarius Moon pushes to leave the paperwork behind, to set off for the next adventure right now, but he's a workaholic and has an issue leaving anything undone. Balancing those two aspects of his personality can sometimes be a daily struggle.

If you're a writer, that inner turmoil, that internal push of the Moon's reactive needs against the Sun's desire to act can be a goldmine in terms of character development.

And that's only part of the story.

Come join me February 1st over at Writer Univ as we use astrology to dig into the heart and soul of your hero, your heroine, and/or your villain.

And, just maybe, find out a little about yourself.

***(That Taurean did give me permission to talk about her - probably her Leo Moon in action!)

Hello! Welcome to ABCs of the Psychic World where we talk about all things Psychic, both in the PSI Realm and in the 'real realm'!

AURAS seem to be a good place to start. One thought is that they are, at the basic level, a field of subtle energy emanating from a person or living object, like a flower or a tree, or even inanimate objects.

Have you ever seen a hazy white glow around something you're staring at? Or that beautiful, vibrant blue glow around flowers in a flower bed? One of the easiest ways to see an aura is to stare at an object - holding your hand out, fingers spread, will do - and let your vision soften and shift out of focus. Notice that glow of white, nearly translucent energy surrounding it? That's the first layer - the one closest to the surface.

Seeing other layers and colors can take more practice. Your emotions, thoughts, behavior and health all affect your aura's color, strength and vibrancy. Imbalances, like those of Dr. Nicholas Swift in ELSIE'S SECRET, show up, sometimes as dark spots, holes or even dark or muddy layers.

Maybe Dr. Swift should have learned to read auras and studied his own!

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Even if you're not a visual type of person or don't want to take the time to stretch that visual/psychic muscle, think about a specific person -- doesn't matter who and we don't need to know names ;o) -- are there certain colors you associate with that person? Not necessarily a color they wear a lot, but a color that resonates to them in your mind.

What is that color? What do you think it represents about them?

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If you're interested in checking out what happens to Dr. Swift in ELSIE'S SECRET: